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Project Noah Nature School
Nymphicus hollandicus
This is about the male. "Its plumage is mostly grey, paler below, with a white wing patch, orange cheeks and a distinctive pointed crest. The male can be identified by its bright yellow forehead, face and crest. [...] The Cockatiel is an unusual member of the cockatoo family. It is small in size, and has a slender body and long pointed tail, which is more characteristic of the smaller parrots." (Birdlife Australia)
Sitting with a female (see pic 2 and spotting: http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/856... ) in the bare branches of a tree at the Mankajarra Wetlands. This is towards the end of the dry season and in the build up to the wet season. Although the water level was low at the time, (it got much lower see pic 6 taken three weeks after the Cockatiel), there was still water and food due to the large amount of rain from the previous wet season (see pic 5 taken April 2017 just after the wet season) . Mankajarra has stands of Paperbark Trees (Melaleuca sp.) and other plants along the edges of the water. When the water level is high, the trees are in the water (see pic 5) and the birds have many more places to hide in and hunt from.
I was with my mum when we saw what must have been approximately 50-80 individual birds flying around! See pics 3 and 4 for a glimpse of a few. These beautiful little birds are endemic to Australia.
Spotted on Nov 18, 2017
Submitted on Feb 17, 2018
12 Comments
Thank you Neil :)
Belated congrats on this SOTD, Liana. Both male and female spottings are excellent.
A very belated thank you Brian :)
Congrats armadeus! Great series!
Wow! Thank you Daniele and thank you PN Rangers for this honour :) Due to these little birds being a popular pet I get great satisfaction in spotting them in the wild and being able to share that here on PN.
Congratulations Liana, we loved these guys and especially their habitat shots. They are our Spotting of the Day:
"Better known as popular household pets, these wild cockatiels (Nymphicus hollandicus) sighted in their natural environment are our Spotting of the Day. Cockatiels are members of the cockatoo family (Cacatuidae), and are endemic to Australia. They privilege arid or semi-arid country, always close to water. Cockatiels are typically seen in pairs or small flocks, but occasionally hundreds will flock around a single body of water".
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Thank you Maria dB and Zlatan!!! They are very photogenic little birds :) Liana
Beautiful spotting and I also agree with Maria - great idea to shoot the habitat and show it in the series. Great comments too.
Wonderful series - I also like the habitat shots showing where they hang out!
Your spotting has been nominated for the Spotting of the Week. The winner will be chosen by the Project Noah Rangers based on a combination of factors including: uniqueness of the shot, status of the organism (for example, rare or endangered), quality of the information provided in the habitat and description sections. There is a subjective element, of course; the spotting with the highest number of Ranger votes is chosen. Congratulations on being nominated!
Thank you Mark! Reckon so...It's been pouring all weekend and I'm not sure the road in even exists right now :D
Fantastic spotting Liana. I love those habitat shots. I guess they are under more water than that right now. :)